Device for the alignment of modular arch centering in concrete walls

ABSTRACT

This invention is related to a device for the proper alignment of falsework structures for concrete walls cast, the device has guide and support elements which facilitate the operator the appropriate installation and fixing on the “layout” which are usually in the underframe templates for walls lifting; it is a body of one piece, made form plastic resine. The configuration of the device of this invention permits that an operator fixes, manually or by using a pneumatic pistol, several devices, in order to align paralley each other, the falsework “walls” being the projected wall thickness, which corresponds to the device lenght, able to be secured in the segment which is between the guide devices. Due to its manufacturing design and material, the device has a appropriate performance with the falsework, the concrete and the steel armature.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention is related with the devices for the correct alignment of the modular inner arch or panels or frames used for “casting” or “pouring” the concrete walls, such as those used for serial housing and other kinds of constructions.

INVENTION BACKGROUND

For the construction of houses, it is common for walls to be manufactured in site, using materials as concrete, same which is poured into the inner arch or frame or contention structure, which at the same time will rest over a excavation or template or foundation slab which conforms the base of the construction.

The distribution of the walls to be poured is made through a layout, sketched over the pattern or foundation slab, according with the blueprints of the construction distribution.

In order to perform the pouring, it is necessary to erect temporal walls like frames or inner arch, same which shall be perfectly aligned in order to guarantee a constant concrete thickness in the walls to be constructed.

The alignment of this kind of modular inner arch or frames, which are vertical in most cases, has been an aspect directed from several perspectives. Some of the alternatives of the previous technique include the following:

The U.S. Pat. No. 1,699,557 (Yeager, 1929), shows a device for anchoring and leveling of wooden floors over concrete bases, such device is anchored in the concrete base using, such device projection paths imbibed in the concrete before solidifying so after that, the floor supports can rest directly over the already fixed device. As well, the U.S. Pat. No. 1,816,226 (Krabiel, 1931) shows a more simple modality of this kind of anchoring devices, consisting of a “U” shaped metallic element which base (the lower part of the U) have holes to receive the nails or similar devices to be anchored over a support such as good, and where the both walls of the U are erected perpendicularly and have holes used to fasten these walls to a wooden fragment which must be anchored. Another device which is similar from the functional point of view but having a different configuration is the one described in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,579 (Bolton, et al., 1939)

The U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,971 (Auberger, 1982), in the other hand, describes a device to “retain the alignment” between the wooden floor plate and a wooden frame over the level of the first, which also Works as a support which delimitate the frame. In this case, the device is fixed to the floor and to the wooden frame for support and alignment, using nails or screws which cross the walls of the device.

The U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,070 (Idland, 1986), describes what is called a support shoe, which is a part to be built in a vertical position in a concrete foundation through a rod to which is attached through the lower area, the support have retainers which allow to form a fork when attaching two elements in an “L” shape with holes in which the nails or screws are fixed to the lower part of the vertical plates or other object to be supported (like a post). The fork is adjustable to the wide face of the object to be supported.

In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,554 (Tyler, 1988) it is described a method and a device to locate and position several anchor bolts in concrete in order to provide a holding device for columns and posts. The device includes two or more anchor bolts which pass through the plate and are welded to it. Another approximation to the alignment problem for walls is provided by the U.S. Pat. No. 10 4,724,642 (Hoffman et al, 1988) where a molded device shows a plurality of projections and holes which open upwards, to form an anchor set for construction elements, for example walls or wall frames.

In some modalities, they include downwards projections from the bottom of the device, which can be used for anchoring. In general, the solution includes the installation of a chute with a “U” shaped profile, which is anchored to the template or foundation slab using nails or screws. As it can be observed, the use of such chute in the base of the wall may cause a series of basic problems between the wall and such template, for example allowing filtrations or cavities; or since we are dealing with ferrous materials, oxidation and pollution can be generated, reducing the resistance and life of

The steel reinforcement of the concrete wall or damage the lower area of the internal faces of the arch or mold, most of all when dealing with soft materials such as Word or aluminum, reducing also the life of the arch.

An alternative solution is the use of guide devices such as the above mentioned, fabricated with plastic resin which location is restricted to some established areas of the lower part of the wall or arch, and regarding the subject, the problem to be solved is to fix such devices in such a way that the correct alignment of the arching elements is assured and therefore the alignment of the finished walls. This invention is related to one of these alignment devices.

PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

Regardless of the limitations and problems presented by the developments so far exposed previously herein, it is the purpose of this invention, to provide a device to correctly align the arch for a concrete wall to be poured.

Another purpose of this invention is to provide a device which is useful to establish or maintain the total thickness of a concrete wall. Another purpose of this invention is to provide a device which allows the settlement of the uniform distance which shall exist between each couple of opposite panels, in order to achieve the thickness of the concert projected in the walls.

It is another purpose of the invention, that the alignment device have elements which can be easily and rapidly fastened by the operator, even if the surface over which it will be places is not uniform (roughness). It is another purpose of the invention, that the fabrication material and the geometric configuration of the device are not damaging the internal surfaces of the arch when having contact with them.

Another purpose of this invention is that the fabrication material for the device shall not generate oxidation or any problem affecting or reducing the life of the reinforcement steel or the concrete wall.

Another purpose of this invention is that the alignment device for the arch does not causes cracks in the base of the wall.

These and another purposes and advantages of the invention will be obvious during the following description, same which will include a series of figures for the preferred modalities of the invention, which are only for illustrative purposes and are not limitative regarding the explanation of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The device is a one piece body, manufactured mainly with a high density polyethylene or polypropylene type plastic resin.

The device has a base which defines a flat rectangular base with several holes to allow the pass of concrete and aggregates in such a way that they are in contact with the foundation template; the base also contains several elements to attach the device to such foundation template, such elements include one, two and even three cylinders with one hole along its longitudinal axis to allow the pass of a fastening or anchoring mean, such as nails or screws; the cylinders are perfectly arranged in a straight line along the center line of the base; over the long sides of such base, there are vertical parallel walls, which height is relatively short in the central area of the central area of the walls, but it is higher in the sides in such a way that the edges establish the lines of contact of the device with the internal walls of the arch, when the device is used; the walls have a series of lateral vertical projections which act as walls or reinforcement structures to avoid the deformation and therefore the deviation of the walls from their vertical position due to the stress applied over them; as it was mentioned before, such walls are parallel one to another and they also have a speculate relation, so either the height as the reinforcement are reciprocal among the, and also are the borders at their edges, same which are completely vertical with respect to the base and jointly they establish two vertical planes perfectly parallel among them, which will be used by the inner faces of the arch. The device, as it will be explained hereinafter, have guide elements and helps the operator for its correct positioning and fastening over the layout of the foundation template for walls erection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For a better understanding of the benefits of the invention device, hereinafter we expose a series of drawings and figures which have the purpose to show in an illustrative manner the Characteristics of the device, without pretending to be limitative of the same.

FIG. 1 is a simple perspective view of the first modality of the device.

FIG. 2 is an upper side view of the first modality of the device.

FIG. 3 is a lower side view of the first modality of the device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the first modality of the device.

FIG. 5 is a frontal view of the first modality of the device.

FIG. 6 is a simple perspective view of the second modality, preferred, of the device.

FIG. 7 is an upper side view of the second modality of the device.

FIG. 8 is a lower view of the second modality of the device.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the second modality of the device.

FIG. 10 is a frontal view of the second modality of the device.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a pair of devices in their practical position, with two parallel arch elements for the fabrication of a concrete wall with a constant thickness over a layout.

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of a sectional cut along the J-J line of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a simple perspective view of the third modality of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description shall be a reference for the above mentioned attached drawings, which shall be understood as illustrative of the preferred modalities of the invention but not limitative of the reach of the inventive concept. The common elements in the figures have the same numeric references in all of them.

The modular arch alignment device for concrete walls, represented by numerals (100), (200) and (500) in the following figures, is a device designed to be used as a guide for the installation of panels which will be used as an arch or a frame for the fabrication of concrete walls, mainly for the construction of housing or buildings, where first of all it is generated a concrete plate or foundation slab where the layout of the walls distribution is sketched and subsequently based on such layout, the concrete walls are erected.

Conventionally, “U” shaped chutes are used and their base is firmly anchored to the concrete slab, also known as foundation template, in such a manner that the edges of the vertical sides of the “U” are used as a guide for the positioning of the arch panels, such walls are susceptible to deformation with the consequent deviation of the arch's panels; using the device of this invention (100), (200) or (500), the contact surface between the guide device and the panels, is reduced to two lines by side, and due to the configuration of the device, the deformation is basically null.

The device (100), (200) or (500) is a one piece body made of a plastic resin such as high density polyethylene or polypropylene, of the type commonly used in the fabrication of auxiliary devices for construction and it is obtained through an injection molding process.

Making reference mainly to device (100) from FIGS. 1-5, this device has a base (105) which defines a flat surface which occupies an essentially rectangular area with several holes (110), (112), (114) to allow the concrete and its aggregates to pass through it in such a manner that they are in contact with the foundation template (not illustrated) over which the device will be mounted and subsequently the arch structure; the base (105) also shows the plurality of fastening elements constituted by two cylindrical bodies (102), (122) with a hole along its longitudinal axis in order to allow a holding or anchoring mean to pass through it, such as nails or screws; the cylinders (120), (122) are arranged in a straight line along the central line of the base (105); on the long sides of such base, there are parallel vertical walls (124), (126) which height is relatively short in the central area of the walls, but longer in the sides in such a way that the vertical edges (130), (132), (134), (136) establish the lines of contact of the device (100) with the internal walls of the arch, when the device is used; the walls (124), (126) have a series of lateral vertical projections (140), (141), (142), (143), (144), (145), (146), (147) which work as reinforcement walls to avoid the deformation and therefore the deviation of the walls (124),(126) from their vertical position because the reinforcement acts over them before pouring the concrete; such wall shave an specular relation among them, making the device to be symmetrical with the longitudinal and transversal axis. (lines A-A and B-B from FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively) in such a way that either the heights as the reinforcements (140)-(142)-(144)-(146) and (141)-(143)-(145)-(147) are correspondent to both, and also the edges of their sides (130)-(132), (134)-(136), same which are completely vertical with regards to the base and which as a group establish two vertical planes perfectly parallel, represented by lines C-C and D-D in FIGS. 2 and 3, which shall be occupied by the inner faces of the arch.

The device (100) have a plurality of guide elements (150), (152), (154), (156) and helps the operator for its correct positioning and fastening over the layouts which are usually sketched in the foundation template for the erection of walls.

FIG. 3, a view of the lower side of the device 8 100), shows that the areas of contact with the foundation template are minimum, in such a way that, the plurality of hollow areas (110), (112), (114) allow the concrete and its aggregates to have a direct contact with the template, assuring the continuity of the material.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show some of the details of the device profiles (100), specially the verticality of the edges (130), (132), (134), (136) and it is also possible to see the parallelism of between the corresponding areas of the opposite walls. Another characteristic of the device (100) is the height of the edges (130), (132), (134), (136) which is comparatively higher than most of the walls (124), (126) and the reinforcement elements (140), (141), (142), (143), (144), (145), (146), (147), although the counterforts (158), (160) reinforce the upper ends of such edges (130), (132), (134), (136).

In the other preferred modality, shown in FIGS. 6 to 12, the device (200) have three holding areas (220), (221) and (222) which can be used indistinctly, but preferable using the ones on the edges (220) and (222) for holding; although it is suggested, for a correct positioning the use of the areas on both ends when it is made manually and the central when using a pneumatic gun; if any of the holding devices is defective, for example broken, the remaining holding elements can be used to assure the alignment of the device. It is important to remark that each one of the holding elements (220), (221) and (222) have two cylindrical posts (220′), (220″), (221′), (221″), (222′), (222″) which allow the correct alignment when using a pneumatic gun to apply the holding nails.

Besides the central holding area (221) and the alignment posts (221′) y (221″), the device (200) have homologous elements for the modality with two holding areas as above mentioned; a base (205) which defines a flan surface with an essentially rectangular space with several holes (210), (212), (214), (216), (218) and (219) to allow the access of concrete and its aggregates in such a manner that they can have contact with the foundation template over which the device and the arch structure will be mounted; the base (205), as explained before, have three elements (220), (221), (222) to hola the device to such foundation template, and such elements are constituted by cylindrical bodies with a hole to allow the access of a holding device such as nails or screws; the cylinders (220), (221), (222) are arranged in a straight line along the center line of the base (205); over the long sides of such base, there are parallel vertical walls (224), (226) which height is relatively short in the central area of the walls, but which is longer in the sides in such a way that its vertical edges (230), (232), (234), (236) establish the contact lines of the device (200) with the inner walls of the arch when the device is used; the walls (224), (226) have a series of vertical lateral projections (240), (241), (242), (243), (244), (245), (246) y (247) which work as reinforcement walls to avoid the deformation and therefore the deviation of the walls (224), (226) from their vertical position, because of a stress acting over them before pouring the concrete; such walls have an specular relation among them, making the device to be symmetrical with respect to its longitudinal and transversal axis (lines E-E and FF from FIGS. 7 and 8 respectively), in such a manner that the heights as the reinforcements (240)-(242)-(244)-(246) and (241)-(243)-(245)-(247) correspond to both, and also the edges of their ends (230)-(232), (234)-(236), same which are completely vertical with regards to the base and jointly establish two perfectly parallel vertical, represented by lines G-G and H-H in FIGS. 7 and 8, which shall be occupied by the inner faces of the arch. The device (200) has a plurality of guide and support elements (220′), (220″), (221′), (221″), (222′) and (222″) for the correct positioning of a pneumatic gun and for the fastening over the layout which are usually sketched in the foundation template of a construction to erect walls.

FIG. 8, a bottom view of the device (200), shows the contact areas of the template with the concrete, as well as the hollow areas (210), (212), (214), 25 (216), (218) and (219) which allow the concrete and its aggregates establish direct contact with the template, assuring the continuity of the material.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the details of the profiles of the device (200) specially the verticality of the edges (232), (234) and it is important to remark also the parallelism among the corresponding areas on the opposite walls, as above mentioned for the first modality. As well as in the first modality, the height of the edges (230), (232), (234), (236) is comparatively higher than the walls (224), (226) and the reinforcement elements (240), (241), (242), (243), (244), (245), (246), (247) The configuration of any of the modalities of the device object of this invention (100), (200) or (500), which will be described hereinafter, allows the operator to hold with nails preferably with the use of a pneumatic gun (in such case, preferably use only one nail in the center), at least two of these devices along the layout for a wall, as it is schematically shown in FIG. 11 with two elements of the (200) type, in order to align in a parallel manner, two “walls” of the arch or mold (301), (302) in such a way that the projected thickness of the wall, corresponding to the length of the device, can be assured to the area between the two guide devices; the material and the dimensions of such arch are used as a base to define the space between the devices (100), (200) ∘ (500)

FIG. 12 is shown by an schematic representation of a transversal cut along the J-J line of FIG. 11, showing who the holding means (401), (402) referred to as nails or screws, pass through the device (200) taking as an example, the holding points (220) and (222) located at the ends and reaching the floor plate (400), anchoring in such a way the device in place, in such a manner that the walls of the arch or molds (301) and (302) are erected in a vertical and parallel manner one in front of the other adjusted to the vertical lines of the walls (230), (232), (234) y (236) (as shown in the previous figures)

Each modality offers unique advantages for the alignment of the arch, since the use of only two anchoring points allows to assure the alignment, impeding the rotation of the device (100) or (200), while when having three points (the (200) modality) also helps the installer when the surface of the slab have areas with imperfections or shows protuberances, placing the holding mean, in the easiest place to access.

Regarding the manufacturing materials of the device (100), (200), we already mention that it is preferred to use plastic resin of common use for the technical areas, such as, but not limited to, high density polyethylene or polypropylene, the advantage of using these kina of materials is to avoid a possible damage to the inner walls of the arch, since this accessory will be used for modular arches; this kina of arch always have a metallic core, and the face contacting the device 100), (200) or (500) can be made of steel, aluminum or wood, or even of different plastic resins, 100% plastic and others with a metallic core.

For the correct alignment of one or both walls of the arch using the device, it is recommended to:

-   1) Make the layout, this is, a distribution of the walls to be     poured in site, over the foundation template; -   2) Establish which walls of the sketched walls will be poured in     site and therefore require alignment; -   3) Since the device is designed to ensure the alignment of the walls     at a distance equal to the length of the vertical walls, it is     necessary to select the proper size of the devices, according to the     thickness of the walls to be poured; -   4) Anchor to such template a plurality of devices for the alignment     of the arches, in such a manner that it has at least two points of     support for each section or area of the arch or mold, preferably for     the two ends of such section and;

a) For each side of the wall to be poured, the imaginary plane over the short side of the device's base, shall match with the line of the inner FACE of the section of the arch or mold to be aligned;

h) Preferably, the union line between two sections of the arch shall match with the largest symmetry axis of the device in such a manner that the edge of one of the vertical walls can be used to align a section of the arch or mold and the edge of the parallel vertical wall of the device can be used to align the section adjacent to the first;

c) When using the modality of the device with two holding elements available, preferably there will be used the most distant two holding elements; if using the modality of the device using one central holding element, this one element can be used, or if some of the alternate elements is broken, the central one can be used as an auxiliary element;

d) the recommended holding devices to anchor the device shall be appropriate for the material of the foundation template, including nails or screws, using the necessary tools or equipment including a pneumatic gun.

-   5) Place the required walls of the arch, over the layout, in such a     way that the lower edges of the inner faces match with the     corresponding sketch, and the lines in contact with the anchored     devices are integrally matched with the vertical edges of the     vertical walls. -   6) Fasten the walls of the arch in place. -   7) Proceed with the pouring of the wall. It is evident that the     anchored devices will be embedded in the concrete, which may be     linked to the foundation around the device and through the hollow     areas designed for such purpose in the base of the device. Also it     is clear that the area of contact of the device with the inner FACE     of the arch or mold is reduced to a very tenuous line which     corresponds to the rounded edge of the vertical ends of the vertical     walls, so they will be basically invisible when striking the centers     of the wall.

In brief, the advantages of the device object of this invention regarding the above mentioned are:

a) the areas of contact with the inner FACE of the arch are reduced to a minimum, there will be only a pair of very short, thin lines in each side of the walls for each guide device used,

b) the parallelism among the inner faces of the arch (and finally the external faces of the finished wall) is assured when the four lines of the corresponding faces of the two parallel fixed devices are fully satisfied;

c) the holes in the base of the device allow the concrete and its aggregates to have contact with the surface of the template of the arch even in the area occupied by the device,

d) the series of reinforcement elements reduce the possibility of deformation of the device or un-alignment of the contact lines, and therefore, they reduce the possibility ∘ fan alteration of the thickness of the concrete wall design.

Although the previous description of the device uses two preferred modalities, it is evident for an individual with knowledge in the technical field that some modification to the Basic configuration of these modalities may be necessary in order to satisfy any particular requirements, but it shall be considered that these modifications will not take the device further than the reach of the subsequent replevins, for example, one of this possible modifications is shown in FIG. 13, a device (500) with only one central holding point (510), integrating many of the advantages of the above mentioned invention, and the elements which are homologous to those of the other two modalities, for example, the essentially rectangular base (505), the lateral vertical walls (524) and (526), the hollow areas (510), (512), (514), (516), (518) and (519), the only cylindrical holding point (520) and its support cylinders and guide (520′) and (520″), which are all the most relevant elements of the device.

Once the invention was described, which is considered innovative and therefore its property is claimed, is the following: 

1. A device for the alignment of arch or mold structures for the pouring of concrete walls constituted by: a. a base defining an essentially rectangular flan surface. b. at least one or preferably a plurality of elements to hold the device to a foundation template, c. parallel vertical walls which are erected over the long sides of such base, d. reinforcement elements transversal to the vertical walls; e. auxiliary guide elements for the positioning of the device in pre-established locations at the layout over the foundation template; such device is characteristic because: i) the base shows a plurality of hollow areas which allow access to the concrete and its aggregates, but maintaining the stability of the structure; ii) the elements to hold the device to the template are essentially cylindrical bodies with a central hole to allow the access of a holding or anchoring mean; iii) the holding elements have a configuration and size which allow to place the head of a pneumatic gun or other tool to properly apply the holding means to anchor the device to a founding template according to the predefined layout. iv) the vertical walls have a thickness which reinforce and give consistency to the structure of the device; v) the transversal reinforcement elements are in the form of very short vertical walls; vi) the vertical walls have a plurality of reinforcement projections, as counterforts which can be triangular or rectangular, such projections are erected from the base up to the closest point of the upper edge of such walls; vii) the edges at the ends of the vertical walls are perpendicular and are aligned by sections to establish a vertical plane matching with each short side of the base; viii) all the edges and borders of the device are rounded to avoid scratching the surfaces they have contact with; ix) the auxiliary guide elements have the shape of small cylinders; x) the device is symmetric regarding both the longitudinal and transversal axis; and xi) the length between the vertical edges of any of the two vertical walls, established the distance between the inner faces of the arch or mold walls and therefore, the thickness of the concrete wall.
 2. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because the height of the vertical walls is relatively short and constant in the central area of the device.
 3. The device according to claim 2, is characterized because the vertical walls substantially increase its height in the area near its borders.
 4. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because the transversal reinforcement elements are aligned near to, or over the lines crossing the center of the cylindrical holding elements.
 5. The device according to claim 4 is characterized because the height of the transversal reinforcement elements is the same of the vertical walls from the point in which they cross with the edges.
 6. The device according to claim 4, is characterized because the height of the transversal reinforcement elements is gradually reduces from the crossing points of the vertical walls to match with the one of the holding cylindrical elements.
 7. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because the auxiliary guide elements for the positioning of the device work as visual guides when located over the vertical walls in the point where they cross with the reinforcement transversal elements.
 8. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because the auxiliary guide elements for the positioning of the device work as a support for the head of the pneumatic gun when they are located in the linking points of the transversal elements with the cylindrical holding elements, for the anchoring of the device in the correct position according to the sayour over the foundation template.
 9. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because is a one piece body.
 10. The device according to claim 9, is characterized because it is fabricated with a plastic resin selected from the group including high density polyethylene or polypropylene
 11. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because it shows only one holding element for the device to be fixed to a foundation template.
 12. The device according to claim 11, is characterized because such holding element is located in the geometrical center of the base.
 13. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because it shows two holding elements for the device to be fixed to a template.
 14. The device according to claim 13, is characterized because such holding elements are located over the mayor symmetry axis of the base.
 15. The device according to claim 14 is characterized because such holding elements are equidistant from the geometric center of the base and moved towards such geometric center in regards with the imaginary line which establishes the short sides of the base.
 16. The device according to claim 1, is characterized because it shows three holding elements for the device to be fixed to a template.
 17. The device according to claim 16, is characterized because one of such holding elements Are located at the geometric center of the base and the other two holding elements are equidistant from the geometric center of the base and moved towards such geometric center in relation to the imaginary line establishing the short sides of the base.
 18. A procedure for the correct alignment of one or two walls of the arch using a device according to claim 1, characterized by the stages of: a. Perform the distribution layout of the walls to be “poured” in site, over a foundation template; b. Establish the walls which require alignment in such layout; c. Select the correct device size, according to the thickness of the walls to be poured; d. Anchor to such template a plurality of devices for the alignment of the arch, in such a way that; i. the imaginary plane or planes over the short sides of the device's base established by the vertical edges of the vertical walls, match with the line of the internal FACE or faces of walls of the arch or mold to be aligned; ii. the union line between two sections of the arch, preferably matches with the major symmetry axis of the device, iii. if necessary, anchor the devices between the union lines of the arch sections; iv. preferably, anchor the devices using the two most distant holding elements, or at least the central holding element, and apply the proper holding means such as screws or nails, using the proper tool or equipment, including a hammer or pneumatic gun. e. Place the required arch walls over the layout, in such a manner that the inner faces are having complete contact with the vertical edges of the vertical walls. f. Hold the arch walls in place g. Proceed with the walls pouring. 